


The light behind your eyes

by dont_ever_change



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Drabble, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, Light Angst, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-30 19:46:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6437839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dont_ever_change/pseuds/dont_ever_change
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes Kuroko notices things he never needed to know.<br/>Aokaga, one-sided aokuro with lots of thoughts and feelings and stuff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The light behind your eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! Hope you gonna like this one and sorry about any mistakes, this is unbeta'd. Tell me what you think, your feedback is really important.

Kuroko couldn’t say when he started noticing details, but for the last few years he did it almost automatically, making no effort to memorize all the little things he saw and heard every day. The young girl sitting at the next table just told her sister that she’s gonna be late, then hang up the phone and complained to her partner about their relationship or something like that.

Kuroko stops himself from listening: it’s unimportant, it doesn’t matter. The one really important person is now right next to him: he’s talking about basketball like he always does, which makes Kuroko’s lips curl into a hardly noticeable smile.

Aomine’s hands are bigger than his. He’s holding his coke with one hand when Kuroko needs both to hold his milkshake. He’s not smiling but glowing from inside, joyful and happy. His voice is low and deep, and he’s still talking about last match. The one he finally couldn’t win no matter how hard he tried. And Kuroko keeps on looking and listening, silently enjoying his recent success.

He spent a lot of time and effort to bring his Aomine-kun back. It happened when Kuroko was starting to think it’s impossible. And then there were his new teammate, unbelievably stupid Kagami-kun – the one who lit the light in Aomine’s eyes once again and never understood what he did.

Kuroko’s smiling once again, squinting when the ray of sunlight hits his eyes. Now that Aomine-kun is here, what keeps him from being happy?

 “Would you like to play streetball tonight?”, he says when his friend stops his monologue.

“Sure”, Aomine smiles, “Kagami’s gonna be there, right?”

“Right”, Kuroko silently repeats.

Of course Kagami’s gonna be there. It always takes two to tango, and soon Kuroko founds himself sitting on the bench simply looking at the two fast, powerful players he’ll never be able to catch up with. And they haven’t even started to play seriously. Aomine sets up the rhythm that is pretty hard even for him, but very soon Kagami catches up, trying to be faster, better. They’re looking into each other’s eyes, and it seems like the storm’s coming, the tension between them so thick you could almost touch it. There’re spectacular dunks, fouls that no one really cares about and short irritated noises Kagami puts out every time he loses the ball. And when  twenty minutes later he finally beats Aomine, the cheerful smile on his rival’s face leaves no doubt: he’s utterly happy.

It brings Kuroko back to the thought about his own happiness. This is just what he wanted for his friend, isn’t it? Then whay he’s missing something important, something from the past they had? Kagami looks at the bench and doesn’t see him, like there’s no Kuroko.

“Bakagami”, Aomine throws the ball into his face, but Kagami catches it and redirects right into the hoop, snorts and gets back into the game. Into _their_ game. Kuroko mastered the lesson which Kagami’s just starting to learn: when you play with Aomine, you never distract. He doesn’t allow it. Giving all the attention he has for the game and his partner, he requires the same from anyone he plays with.

***

As the time goes by, Kuroko starts to notice the series of changes between two forwards. Aomine can’t get enough of playing with Kagami and beating him again and again, genuinely admiring every time Kagami manages to win. Ignorant of the fact that he’s actually teaching Kagami – if it’s even possible to learn for the one who uses only his talent and power and no actual technique. Every single move he makes is full of wild power, and Aomine loves it. Kagami understands him without words and immerse himself in their fight with no winners.

And Kuroko feels like he’s somehow already lost this fight.

One week later they’re sitting in the Magi, and for that moment Kuroko’s sure that something happened between his friends. There’s something elusive, something even he can’t fully understand until Kagami gets up for more burgers and casually touches Aomine’s shoulder while passing by.

The next second Kuroko gathers the pieces of the riddle he’s been puzzling over for too long, and everything becomes very simple. He tastes a little bitterness on his tongue and blames it on the salad in his burger.

“Tetsu”, the beautiful velvet voice brings him back to reality. Kuroko blinks and looks at Aomine with no expression on his face.

“I’m still here, you know? I never left.”

Actually he left once, but right now it doesn’t matter.

“I know that”, Kuroko says, having no clue what he’s talking about.

“Yeah”, Aomine shrugs his shoulders, “but Kagami and I – we just have more in common. He’s an idiot, and he irritates me a lot, but we’re alike. That’s all, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Aomine looks somewhere above Kuroko’s shoulder and smiles. He’s talking about Kagami, criticizing and admiring him at the same time, and Kuroko understands  he’s not going to sulk anymore. There’s nothing to complain about when his former Light is shining brighter than ever, no matter who lit him up this time. Kuroko’s fine with keeping warm from the light that isn’t his.

At some point Kagami comes back with a tray full of burgers and falls on the seat between them.

“Did I missed something?”, he asks nonchalantly.

“No”, Kuroko smiles at him, “it’s nothing.”


End file.
